Tourism Ireland, Marketing the Island of Ireland Overseas

Tourism Ireland Welcomes New Flight from Helsinki

21 Dec 2012

Tourism Ireland warmly welcomes the announcement by Scandinavian airline Norwegian of a new service from Helsinki to Dublin, which will commence on 12 April 2013. The service will operate two days a week (Mondays and Fridays) and will certainly help boost tourism business from Finland to the island of Ireland.

Niall Gibbons, CEO of Tourism Ireland, said: “We are already working with Norwegian to promote their flights from Copenhagen and Oslo to Dublin and we very much look forward to working closely with them to maximise the promotion of this new route from Helsinki. As an island, direct, convenient and competitive access services are critical to achieving growth in inbound tourism. Tourism Ireland is committed to working with Norwegian, Dublin Airport and other tourism interests to drive demand for this new service, and all other services to the island of Ireland, and to help maintain our vital network of routes and services.

“Mainland Europe – including the Nordic region – is an increasingly important market for Irish tourism and in 2013 Tourism Ireland aims to welcome almost 2.5 million European visitors.”

-ENDS-

Further information:
Sinéad Grace, Tourism Ireland
Tel: 087-685 9027

Notes to Editors:
• Tourism Ireland is the organisation responsible for promoting the island of Ireland overseas as a leading holiday destination.
• Tourism is the island of Ireland’s largest indigenous industry; responsible for in excess of 4% of GNP in the Republic of Ireland and employing approximately 200,000 people.
• In 2012, an estimated 7.27 million overseas visitors came to the island of Ireland, delivering revenue of approximately €3.51 billion. Overseas tourism business accounts for 59% of all tourism revenue.
• Tourism Ireland’s international website is www.discoverireland.com; there are 42 different websites, providing information in 14 different languages covering every continent. In 2011, discoverireland.com attracted almost 12 million unique visitors.
• ‘The Gathering Ireland 2013’ will be Ireland’s biggest ever tourism initiative and will consist of a year-long programme of festivals, events and gatherings in every part of the country; Tourism Ireland has an extensive programme of promotions under way to highlight ‘The Gathering Ireland 2013’ around the world, working closely with the ‘Gathering’ project team.